Thanks to the newly acquired [Window of Darkness], I was able to hunt until just before those guys arrived and then hide in the shadows, allowing me to remain undetected while they floundered around in vain.
“Damn it! His presence disappeared again!”
“That damn Orc bastard!”
“It’s not even detectable with Stealth; I have no clue what’s going on.”
“This is maddening.”
‘Tough times indeed. But finding ways to trick them has its own charm.’
As time passed, their presence became less of a threat, but another dude was quite a headache.
I found it suspicious that the Big Boars had been moving away from the center for days. I decided to follow the direction they were running from, and there I encountered a massive, grotesque dark entity.
Cautiously approaching to avoid being detected, I focused my senses.
‘That thing…’
The shape of the monster felt strangely familiar.
As I closed the distance, its outline became clearer, and I soon realized what it was.
‘Is that that thing? Why is it here?’
It looked very much like the experimental ‘Tooth’ made by mixing various monsters. Only, it was much larger.
Despite being detected from 1km away, the sheer oppressive aura it emitted sent chills down my spine.
As I observed, it took any living creature that got within 50 meters and simply devoured them whole.
Its eyes were devoid of emotion, an empty void.
This creature was nothing more than a killing machine designed to hunt other beings.
Chills ran through my bones at the chilling sense it radiated.
Monsters would surely scramble to flee towards the entrance.
‘It’s strong…’
Definitely weaker than the Lizardman I faced during my job change quest, but far more formidable than the Residue of Chaos.
‘Geez… not a single quiet day.’
I was definitely growing stronger, but I had this nagging feeling that stronger foes just kept appearing.
‘Not like before… back then, even the Paladins would have found it tough. I am definitely getting stronger.’
Am I being too hasty?
I tried to calm my nerves, but I felt chased day by day.
Reflecting on my past life, it was hard to believe how much I had grown, yet that restlessness didn’t fade.
‘Sigh… it’s just the way it is. You can’t expect human emotions to follow logic.’
A fleeting thought drifted in from an unknown expert who said that a proper level of tension and pressure was actually positive.
I steeled my resolve once more and gazed at the creature that looked like a jumbled mess of filth.
How did this Chimera end up in such a dungeon? Was it the same monster that the Blue-eyed Deity mentioned I should investigate on the first day?
I had many questions, but nothing was getting resolved.
‘If I catch it, maybe I can extract some information.’
Last time, after catching ‘Tooth’ and turning it into a Skeleton Bomb, I recalled learning that its Master was the Great Sorcerer ‘Palkai.’
– Grrrrrr…
‘What the hell? Is that thing bigger than the combined Lizardmen?’
The creature birthed from the Great Sorcerer ‘Palkai’ was clearly an upgraded version.
Whether this was intentional or just a mishap across dimensions was unknown.
Its shape had features of Werewolf mixed with Elf and Devil, now adorned with stone fragments from what seemed to be a Living Statue, adding even more intimidation to its presence.
Its claws stretched nearly 1 meter long, made of a translucent substance that stirred, reminiscent of the Spear of Water wielded by the Were Croc.
Could I handle this monster without self-destructing?
Two days ago, it would have been impossible, but maybe there’s a slight chance now.
Three days into this dungeon on my own.
I leveled up yesterday and my newly acquired abilities were already well-honed.
Though I regretted that [Thievery] hadn’t triggered while hunting hundreds of monsters, clearing a small quest tied to the [Window of Darkness] and meeting the prerequisites for one of the top-tier spells, [Meteor], was encouraging.
‘Close combat is out of the question. Should I use this…’
[Meteor]
– ‘Arkeina’ walks the path to becoming the ‘first magician’ when she suddenly perceives a ‘magic-infused stone’ floating in a distant space. She instinctively realizes she can summon this remarkable stone from the void.
– She summons the ‘magic-infused stone’ drifting in the cosmos to bombard a random target point.
– Deals 3,000% damage of Magical Attack Power.
– Ignores all defensive measures, including [Invincible].
– Inflicts a special status ailment of [Severe Burning] on the hit enemy.
– Severe Burning: -90% health recovery effect, -50% defense.
– This skill does not consider allies. Use with caution.
Having read the description of this top-tier magic, [Meteor], more than a dozen times, I knew this formidable spell consumed a whopping 1,000 magic. Of course, that was just for activation; to increase its potency, the magic cost would rise exponentially.
This ability would be more potent in group battles rather than one-on-one, and it would be particularly useful when dealing with the Great Beast ‘Devouring Creeper’ in the near future and the Orc Legion further down the line.
I hadn’t used it yet, but given its ‘random’ nature, it was bound to be an unpredictable ability.
I was in charge of designating the target range, but other factors seemed purely left to luck…
Even though that Chimera was a monstrous 5 meters tall, I wondered if I could reliably hit it with the random strikes of [Meteor].
‘What level was Jo Gi-man’s [Meteor] for him to control it?’
When he used it against the Great Beast Debsorpia, I remember him only scaring people a bit but hitting the monster precisely once—making Jo Gi-man seem awesome.
‘The Incarnation of the Seven-headed Dragon, monsters still are monsters, huh…’
Anyway, since it stole my skill, I should manage it well now.
‘By the way, that jerk hasn’t come out since heading to Jeju Island? What’s so special about “Nando”?’
Jo Gi-man had been uncontactable ever since entering the ultra-large dungeon ‘Nando’ in Jeju Island.
Interestingly, my mental map showed two location markers for him.
‘One is mainly at the White Knight Guild headquarters… and the other is at ‘Nando’… his main body must be in Jeju.’
So, the one mimicking Jo Gi-man at the White Knight Guild was probably a clone.
‘Clone abilities… I’d say I could get something like that in a higher-tier dungeon.’
There were indeed monsters that possessed similar abilities.
Of course, it would still be a while before I encountered them, so I shouldn’t envy them too much.
In any case, with the upgraded ‘Tooth,’ which I will now call ‘Chimera 2,’ was sitting still unless someone disturbed its spot.
‘It may not even be guarding its place but rather stuck in that state. That would be better.’
Fortunately, since it was quite away from the dungeon’s path, there likely wouldn’t be any hunters approaching unless they were looking for trouble like I was.
As long as I could finish my business before anyone intervened, I could let loose without worry.
‘It’s getting a bit late. It’s almost time for Yeon-hee’s call, so I’ll save the experimentation for tomorrow.’
Just then, a massive summoning portal appeared, and I left the dungeon, looking forward to the next day.
*
An hour after Il-wol’s summoning was dispelled.
“This is the last one.”
The Paladins arrived at the location where Il-wol had been, scanning the surroundings.
“Is he gone again?”
“Seems like it.”
“This is troublesome. It’s rare for Areina to give a group quest; giving up is not an option.”
“This is a time-limited quest. We need to see how far we can push ourselves.”
“Right, we wouldn’t want to disappoint her.”
The newly joined Guide, who had been contemplating, finally spoke up.
“Um… are you guys planning to stay here?”
“Huh? Uh—no, I think we should leave for today.”
The Guide looked anxious, and the Paladin Party Leader, ‘Lee Jong-il,’ noticed and asked,
“Do you sense something off?”
“Actually… there’s an unknown smell coming from that direction. But… it’s foreboding. I’ve never encountered this scent before.”
The canine Beastman Guide kept sniffing the air, taking small steps back.
“Oh? A variant of a Diva or Were Croc, perhaps?”
“This is qualitatively different from them. This is… a monster so strong that I can’t be sure we could even take it down if we all teamed up. I mean, it would be impossible for us.”
“…Really?”
“I’m certain. I don’t know why that thing is still hanging around here and hasn’t been thrown out of the dungeon.”
“And its movements?”
“It’s frozen solid, as if crystallized. But it is definitely responding sensitively to its surroundings. It might be that it’s stationary due to some dungeon restriction.”
“A monster that cannot move due to dungeon restrictions…”
Lee Jong-il listened to the words of the Guide he had hired at a hefty price, pondering for a moment before finally speaking.
“Today… let’s report this and hold a meeting with the Elders. There’s no guarantee that beast will be here tomorrow, but since this is far off the usual route, other hunters likely won’t encounter it. It might be best to get troop support and consider returning.”
Another Paladin chimed in with a suggestion.
“It would be wise to file a report with the management office.”
“Hmm… that doesn’t seem quite right… They only care about their own interests, anyway. What have we ever received after providing them with information?”
“Nothing special, right.”
“Right, solving this ourselves seems better. And this dungeon exploration feels somewhat auspicious. I can sense the Gods are with us. When the favorable wind blows from behind, we must seize this opportunity.”
“To catch both Orcs and raid-level monsters…”
“Exactly.”
The Paladins nodded in agreement with their leader, Lee Jong-il.
Calmly making their decision, the Paladins cautiously headed towards the exit. Like Il-wol, they were also hoping for tomorrow.
* * *
The next morning.
“Il-wol, if we finish up today, Ah-rin will achieve her goal. From tomorrow, we’ll be diving into ‘Weasel Den.’ You’ll be joining us too, right?”
“Clap, Clap, Clap.”
Today was likely the day Baek Ah-rin reached level 73 as we completed the slightly unusual dungeon ‘Golden Pastiche’ and planned to travel together again from the next day.
Of course, I intended to run the dungeons solo again once I collected everything I could within a day or two.
The dungeon we would enter tomorrow would feature the ‘Orc Gladiator’ for the first time, a being superior to the Orc High-Rank Warrior, boasting significant combat power.
If I had to compare, they were similar to the Were Croc optimized for the ‘Golden Pastiche’ dungeon, but with significantly greater technical prowess.
Even if Baek Ah-rin faced them one-on-one without interference, she might have a tough time against a formidable opponent.
The dungeon boss was a monster resembling a weasel, named ‘Vigel,’ but in reality, most of the dungeon would be dominated by the Orcs, so when thinking of an Orc dungeon classified as C-rank, this place usually came to mind.
Yeon-hee had reached level 79, so her level up would come soon as well. While hitting level 80 wouldn’t grant her job change levels like mine, one typically gains new insights every 20 levels, so it was worth looking forward to.
Yeon-hee had completely shaken off the stress from our first day’s struggles, and she seemed more confident than when we were dungeon diving together.
‘Our choice was spot on.’
I nodded satisfactorily as I led her towards the dungeon.
Coincidentally, I spotted Noh Ha-yoon and Ham Eun-young heading to work together. Lately, the two had been commuting together, but they also seemed a bit distant when around us, which I found hard to understand. Were they feeling shy or something?
In any case, as I dashed into the ‘Living Statue of Strength’ dungeon, I headed towards the end of the first floor with familiarity.
Once I descended into the basement, I planned to test [Meteor] immediately against Chimera 2, the upgraded version of ‘Tooth’ I had seen yesterday, and perhaps sneak into the boss battle if I had time.
‘More like using it and crossing my fingers I won’t faint afterward.’
[Meteor] was undoubtably still a taxing skill for me.
Since I didn’t know what side effects I might experience post-usage, the safest bet would be to cast it right before I was summoned by Yeon-hee.
However, I had to see how the spell would affect enemies at least once, so I was willing to take on some risk today.
With that in mind, I reached the stairs leading underground, only to see a horde of annoying creatures crowding my view.
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